The video shows Queen Sofía with her arms around her two granddaughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, smiling at a photographer. Queen Letizia walks in front of the camera a couple of times before appearing to say something to her mother-in-law and separate the girls from her. Princess Leonor seems to brush her grandmother’s hand off of her shoulder, as well.

It is important to note that a longer version of the video shows Infanta Sofía shaking hands with the public when Queen Sofía grabs her arm to pull her in for the photo.

King Felipe did appear to try to mediate between his mother and wife after the moment that has now been spread across social media and the Spanish press.

There’s no way of knowing if Letizia knew the photo was being taken or what was said between the two women. Some argue that Letizia was purposely interfering with a family picture, while others have said they think Letizia was speaking to her daughters to keep them from causing a scene. However, there is no arguing that the clip shows a visible tension between Letizia and Sofía at the end.

Rumours have circulated for years that Letizia and Sofía do not get along. They were only fueled when Sofía once complained that she never gets to see her granddaughters.

After the video was put on Twitter, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece made the unusual move for a royal by weighing in on Twitter saying, “This makes me feel so angry!” She later added, “No grandmother deserves that type of treatment! Wow, she’s [Queen Letizia] shown her true colours.”

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About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. Her love of royals began in middle school, and she's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites.